~~~SisterSea~~~

Today's gospel parable is an allegory. As you know an allegory is a story with two levels of meaning. First, there's the surface of the story. Then there's the deeper meaning that surface story and characters represent. The parables in this chapter of Matthew are about action and attention, or more accurately, the focus of one's attention. With today's gospel there is an underlying sub-plot that I have always overlooked. My previous interpretations took “talents” not as units of coinage 1 but as gifts that God has given us. So, the meaning that I extrapolated from this interpretation was that whatever gifts or talents God gave us were to be used or shared. Whenever we used the gifts we had, whether they were great or small, we would receive even more. For example, if one has the gift of a skill or art and shares that with others by teaching them that skill or art, one gains the experience of teaching, more confidence and the joy that comes from help...

by Rev. Dr. Victoria Marie, RCWP Canada West They say a priest has a miraculous power to turn bread and wind into Jesus But the miracle is to cultivate the seed of Jesus within, that feeds us. It's been five years since my ordination. Have I served well, progressed or rested in stagnation? Have I preached well, broken open the Word encouraged others, listened, truly heard. Provided space for others to share their talents, steered folks towards inner/outer balance? Do I hear their woes, share in the lament, as well as the joys Divine Mystery has sent? Have I shown by my own actions that everything is sacred, by loving Creator, my neighbour and all God created. Have I shown, like faith, love is a verb? Faith without love, love without action, is empty, absurd. Even if I've answered these questions well these are things at which a priest can never excel. Like everyone else, a priest will never reach perfection. Like everyone else, a priest grows with self-examination, refle...

Linda Spear | May 28, 2017   Originally published at http://rcwpcanada.x10.mx/ "Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you." (Mt. 28, 16-20)    It is fitting, then that our Gospel reading is the Great Commission. This is neither the time nor the place to enter into a scholarly discussion of whether this passage, this command of Jesus, was added much later. What we do know is that, in the Christian Scriptures, we have a record of the beliefs of the early Christians. We also have the witness of the Scriptures and of early Christian writings as to how those early believers lived out this commission, even to the shedding of their blood.   The first part of the Great Commission tells us to spread the Good News and to baptize, to bring everyone into union with Jesus.  What is this Good News?...

Today's gospel is quite lengthy, so I'll confine my comments to a brief explanation of the reference to “two days” and “four days” mentioned in the gospel reading and my thoughts on faith and emotions for followers of Jesus. John's uses “two days” in reference to Jesus remaining two days longer from the time he hears of Lazarus' death. These two days plus the two day travel time to Bethany make up the four days referenced in v. 39, where Martha says the Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days. Four days is significant because as scripture scholar, Moloney, informs his readers: “As well as the physical decomposition of the body after four days…there is a widely held Jewish opinion that the soul hovered near the body for three days, but by the fourth all hope of resuscitation was gone.” i Therefore Jesus revelation of the power and glory of God are all the more indisputable because there could be no doubt in the minds of the witnesses that Lazarus had tru...

Today's gospel story is one of my favourites. Today, I will focus on this encounter as transformation of the Samaritan Woman's faith by the theological discussion between her and Jesus. The first thing that we notice is that she is practical. She asks how Jesus is going to give her any kind of water without a bucket. Jesus replies to her practical question in spiritual terms. He uses the terms “gift of God” and “living” water”, which, in ancient time, were used to describe the Torah. It is possible that the woman understood His offer. For example, she asks “Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well?” Satisfied with Jesus' answer, she asks for the water that she understands will eternally quench her thirst. Next Jesus suggests that she “call her husband.” It is this part of the story that is often used to show that the woman was one of loose morals. A woman who has had five husbands and is now living with a man who is not her h...

Today's first reading and gospel are about hungers: hungers for power, position, and possessions rather than who one is before God. We are who we are—and—we are no more and no less than who we are before God. In the first reading from Genesis, we have the story of the so-called “Fall”. However, we can look at their sin as one of coveting the power of being “like God”. In their desire to be like God, they don't realize that they are not ready.    If one is trapped in atonement theology, we think only of “The Fall.” However, we can look at this story as a metaphor for the beginning of humanity's journey toward wholeness. One can think of God's punishment in terms of a parent insisting the children do community service in a hospital ward so that the kids can begin to understand and learn from what they have done. Imagine, it went something like this:-- After they were cast out of the Garden, out of the beautiful paradise, t hey begin to forget Eden but the...

The phrase “dignity of the human person” is one of the fundamental teachings in Catholic Social Teaching. Its basis in the phrase from Genesis that we are made in the “image and likeness of God”. These concepts are explained and expanded by today's readings. First, I'll do a little word play with a key phrase from each of the readings before giving a reflection on the readings themselves. In today's reading from Leviticus, we are told “Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.” Now the Hebrew word qadosh or qadesh translated here as “holy” also means “set apart” or “a sanctuary.” So one could interpret this verse as saying “be a sanctuary as your God is a sanctuary.”    In the second reading Paul asks, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” The Greek word naos refers to Jewish Temple proper, that is, the sanctuary, the place where God dwells and manifests. So this could be interpreted as “Do you n...

Year A In last week's gospel, Matthew gave us the Beatitudes. We often think of the Beatitudes as rewards for different groups of good people. They are not. Rather, they are the characteristics that each of us should strive to embody. One could say they are the steps, in no particular order, that can transform us. As we know Jesus was familiar with the writings of the prophet Isaiah. In today's first reading Isaiah gives us an instance of the Hebrew Scriptural basis of Jesus' teaching in last Sunday's and this Sunday's gospel reading as well as the corporal works of mercy. Isaiah counsels us to share our bread with the hungry, to shelter the oppressed and the homeless; to clothe the naked, to remove oppression, false accusations and malicious speech from our communities. Then, Isaiah tells us, not only will our light break forth like the dawn but also, a light shall rise for us in the darkness and our gloom will become like midday. In toda...

When I reflected on today's readings, which at first glance could make us think they're about us and them, rich and poor. They are not. Rather they are about transformation. We all have of one foot in the camp of the proud and the other in the camp of the humble. Think of the first reading as a metaphor for God's honing us so that the humble part of us grows and the proud part diminishes. It is our response to misfortune as well as our response to good fortune that determines our character. The humility of which Zephaniah speaks, it not self-debasement or docility. Rather it is simply acknowledging the truth about ourselves and our dependence on God and our interconnectedness to all of creation. The righteousness of which Zephaniah speaks is not scrupulosity or piety. The Greek and Hebrew words, usually translated as “righteousness” would be more aptly translated as: equity, fairness, justice or, justness. “Seek humility, seek righteousness” means seek truth an...

Mass During the Day This is the first time we've had our own Mass on Christmas. Previously, I've attended either the Vigil Mass or “Midnight” Mass. Sometimes, though not often, I attended Mass on Christmas Day. In preparation for today's homily, I discovered that the readings were different for each of these Masses. I'll briefly share my reflections on each of the Christmas gospels before sharing a few thoughts on today's on today's. The Vigil gospel is from Matthew, which begins with the genealogy of Jesus before recounting the story of the angel, who appears to Joseph to let him know that Mary has not been unfaithful. The angel counsels Joseph not to abandon her because the Child she is carrying is born of the Holy Spirit. We have to keep in mind that each gospel writer was writing with their specific community. Matthew's community consisted mostly of Jews and were still part of the synagogue. So Matthew's gospel begins with legitim...